Hearing Emperor Chengzu's words, Yin Ruihua showed no joy, but instead a look of fear.
"Your Majesty! Emperor Jianwen—wasn't he sealed alive here, left to fend for himself?!"
Yin Ruihua could understand why Emperor Chengzu didn't personally kill Emperor Jianwen, but instead buried him alive and left him to his own devices.
Given the status of Emperor Jianwen's father, the founding Crown Prince, in Emperor Chengzu's heart and in the hearts of the people, it was only natural that Emperor Chengzu would not wish to personally kill his descendant.
But why did he still provide him with celestials to prolong his life?
For Yin Ruihua at that time, the fear of Emperor Jianwen far outweighed the temptation of extended life. Thinking that he would become his jailer, living in fear of his potential escape for at least a hundred years, Yin Ruihua's tone became anxious.
However, Yin-xiong was still Yin-xiong, but the middle-aged man had already become "Your Majesty."
Emperor Chengzu merely swept a glance over, and Yin Ruihua immediately lowered his head, mumbling nothing.
Emperor Chengzu had no intention of explaining to Yin Ruihua, instead lowering his head to look at Emperor Jianwen inside the coffin.
"Remember this well."
"For the first thirty years, I will not send you anything. You just lie in this coffin and slowly wear away all the vitality and life you obtained from the Zhu family."
"After thirty years, Yin-xiong will send you the first celestial. After that, Yin-xiong will always keep you barely alive, allowing you to slowly weaken until your lifespan is exhausted."
"You, just rest assured and lie there."
Emperor Chengzu raised his hand and pressed the coffin lid, looking deeply at Emperor Jianwen.
Then, he slowly closed it.
The light gradually narrowed on Emperor Jianwen's face. He remained expressionless, looking at Emperor Chengzu and Yin Ruihua until he completely disappeared from Zhu Shoujing's sight.
Emperor Chengzu and Yin Ruihua turned and left.
Zhu Shoujing lowered his head, silent.
The illusion still had not dissipated.
Suddenly, Emperor Jianwen appeared beside Zhu Shoujing and glanced at him.
Zhu Shoujing knew that this was not Emperor Jianwen from the illusion, but the true Emperor Jianwen, who had appeared within the illusion by means of "Stillness."
"Zhu Zai, how do you view the events of that year?" Emperor Jianwen asked.
Within the illusion, he was not restricted by that mummified body, and his voice was no longer hoarse and stagnant, but had returned to the young, majestic, and indifferent tone of his youth.
Zhu Shoujing was silent for a moment, then shook his head.
"This subject cannot see clearly, nor can he speak clearly."
The Xiaoling Guard had guarded the imperial mausoleum for over a hundred years. Although they were not privy to these specific events, they would have seen some things and had some conjectures. Corroborated by the scenes in the illusion, Zhu Shoujing was now convinced of Emperor Jianwen's identity.
However, relying solely on the scattered words of Emperor Chengzu and Yin Ruihua, Zhu Shoujing still could not piece together a complete picture of the events of that year, and in fact, it raised even more questions.
For example, "Why did Emperor Chengzu not practice this cultivation method himself?"
Zhu Shoujing blurted out.
"Because the celestials and the Zhu family's bloodline at that time had been almost exhausted by Us. If he were to cultivate again, he would have to kill all of the Zhu family's bloodline and the celestials under him."
"His so-called 'Jingnan' was only possible with the disgruntled imperial relatives and celestials. If he had harbored such thoughts, he would have met the same end as Us."
Emperor Jianwen replied.
"Then, why didn't Emperor Chengzu—" Zhu Shoujing swallowed the word "kill."
Emperor Jianwen looked at him and said, "Zhu Zai, do you mean to ask why he did not kill Us?"
"Yes."
"He made a gamble with Us." Emperor Jianwen slowly said.
"The gamble was whether his descendants could firmly hold this world before Our lifespan was exhausted."
At this moment, time within the illusion suddenly accelerated. The moss on the stone walls rapidly grew, then rapidly withered; the clothes of Emperor Jianwen in the coffin rotted, and the flesh on his body collapsed.
"If his descendants can firmly hold the Great Shuo's empire, then the mere jianghu will naturally be under their control, and collecting celestials will not be a difficult task."
"Then, We will lie in this tomb until Our lifespan ends."
"That would mean We lost to him."
"The stakes We would pay are these hundred-plus years of torment, and the death that awaits Us in this coffin."
Emperor Jianwen slowly said.
"We are the descendant of Crown Prince Yiwen. Emperor Taizu personally decreed that We succeed to the throne. He ultimately gained his position illegitimately. He could be ruthless towards Us, but towards Our father, towards Emperor Taizu, he always wanted to prove that he was in the right."
"Therefore, he made this gamble with Us."
Zhu Shoujing paused, then asked, "Then, Your Majesty, how would you be considered to have lost?"
Emperor Jianwen slowly said, "Naturally, if before We die in this tomb, his descendants are no longer able to firmly hold this world, suppress the jianghu, or collect celestials."
"Yin Ruihua and We both need celestials to extend our lives."
"But he will die earlier than We will."
"If Great Shuo is already unstable, unable to suppress the jianghu, and has reached the point where celestials can no longer be collected, Yin Ruihua will open the tomb at the last moment before his death."
"That would mean We won."
"And the stakes he would pay are to return this Great Shuo into Our hands."
Zhu Shoujing was silent.
A gamble spanning nearly two hundred years was slowly narrated by Emperor Jianwen, unfolding before him.
But then, Zhu Shoujing frowned.
"Your Majesty, the current Great Shuo has not reached such a state, and Yin-daren did not die of old age, but died by Your Majesty's hand. This—"
Emperor Jianwen did not reply.
The surrounding illusions shifted. The moss in the wall cracks visibly lost its verdant color. Salt-like crystals seeped from the wall surface. The accumulated dew on the stone walls evaporated, then dripped again.
Emperor Jianwen in the coffin had already become like a mummy.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes.
Outside the tomb, voices were heard.
"Your Majesty, it is here."
Footsteps reached the door and stopped.
Then another calm voice sounded.
"Yin Gongfeng, it has been over a hundred years."
"Do you want to leave this place?"
Zhu Shoujing's pupils constricted. He recognized that voice!
"The gamble Emperor Chengzu made with him, in Our view, was unwise. Our empire does not need a dead person lying in a tomb to contend for it."
"Those celestials should not be used by him—"
That voice slowly said, "Yin Gongfeng, you have guarded this place for over a hundred years. We feel that Emperor Chengzu was too harsh on you—"
The footsteps gradually receded, and then the sound of the tomb being sealed shut rang out.
Zhu Shoujing abruptly turned to look at Emperor Jianwen.
Emperor Jianwen slowly said, "Indeed, human hearts are unpredictable. No matter how solid loyalty may be, it cannot withstand over a hundred years of time."
"Yin Ruihua changed."
"He told someone about the matters here."
"Even the method of accumulating 'vitality and life' using celestials was handed over by him."
The indifference on Emperor Jianwen's face in the coffin receded, and anger gradually crept into his brows and eyes. His lips moved, and he hoarsely and stagnantly uttered a few words.
"Zhu—"
"Emperor—"
"Traitor!"
The true Emperor Jianwen looked at himself in the coffin and slowly said, "The gamble was overturned by his descendant."
"His descendant, however, walked Our path."